How to Make Homemade Chicken Jerky for Dogs

Does your dog love to eat chicken jerky but with all the recent recalls and scares of chicken jerky from China, you wouldn’t dare feed it to him or her? Us, too! Well, dog loving moms and dads, Fidose of Reality has uncovered a recipe to make chicken jerky from home that your dogs will absolutely devour. The bonuses: It’s easy to make, cheaper than buying it, and safe! (it’s made in your own kitchen, after all).

Pet Talkis the name of a sometimes wacky, always upbeat, educational television show about pets, animals, and the humans who love them. Airing in the southwestern Connecticut area, the show features hostess with the mostest Lauren Collier, who has been entertaining and informing the pet-loving masses for almost 13 years.

We share this recipe for homemade chicken jerky for dogs thanks to our friend, Lauren Collier, who is the hostess of Pet Talk, which has been on the air for 13 years. Fidose of Reality interviewed the lovely Lauren Collier for Dogster magazine, where we write a weekly (or more) feature. Meantime, beckon to Bowser and tell Rover to lick those chops: Here’s Lauren’s Chicken Jerky recipe (that viewers are chomping at the bit about):

These all natural chicken jerky strips make the perfect snack for your dog, plus they are so good you can even eat them yourself! A few quick tips for easy preparation: Popping the meat into the freezer for about 15 minutes beforehand makes the meat much easier to slice thinly, and the thinner you slice the meat, the less time it takes to dry.

What you need:

* 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast tenders, sliced into strips about 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch thick * 1/2 cup vegetable oil * Dog Friendly seasonings including parsley, rosemary, and sage are optional… (note: if you have a dog with epilepsy, be careful with the rosemary, as Fidose of Reality found out that rosemary is contraindicated for dogs with seizures. Thank you, Dr. M. Jean Dodds)

Then:

Rinse off chicken breast and remove any fat. Slice the chicken with the grain. This will help make the jerky even chewier for your dog. Fat slows down the dehydrating process and will make your chicken jerky spoil faster. Next coat the chicken slices with a few dog friendly seasonings including parsley, rosemary, sage.

Place the chicken breast strips evenly throughout the tray, leaving an equal space between them and making sure that they do not touch each other. This is because there needs to be air flow in between them while they are drying out.

Once they are all in the food dehydrator turn it on and set the temperature for 140 degrees. It will probably take between 3 and 12 hours for it to fully dry, depending on how thick you cut your slices and the exact temperature of your food dehydrator. It is a good idea to start checking it once every hour after the first hour. To check it, simply open up the tray and take one slice out.

Cut it open with a sharp knife and exam the inside. You should see no moisture at all and if it is properly dried it will have the same color throughout. If it is not finished put it back in for another hour. Once it gets close start checking once every half hour.

Once your chicken jerky is done store it in sealed containers, zip lock bags work great for this. Write the date you made it on them. You can also store it in the refrigerator for even longer shelf life. There, you are done. Enjoy your healthy snacks!…..

i dont use anything on my turkey. bought a dehydrator and only do turkey for now. jedi can not eat chicken. he has been on death door too many times. we went raw diet for him. and in 1 month he is acting like a puppy. the yeast came out of hiim. he can not eat chicken. a lot of dogs are allergic to chicken. raw food saved my dogs life. but not my wallet. i buy primal and make my own raw for him on some. days but buying raw no hormones or junk in it is expensive. live in wpb florida.

this is not my recipe (mine can be found at http://www.kissthechef-catering.com under Domestic Dogdess. But, being a chef, I assume the author wants you to dredge the chicken slices in the oil before coating them with the seasonings.

I make jerky for my family dogs and the neighbors dogs. I don’t add ANY seasoning. My friend started to do it too, when she saw how much her dog liked the treats. I get boneless chicken, clean off all the fat and gristle, cut in thin strips, place them on parchment paper, and put them in my dehydrator. I leave them for 12 hours, though I think they’re done long before that. I then put them in my FoodSaver bags with oxygen absorbers. They last for months, if they don’t all get eaten first! LOL. They’re a big hit with the dogs.

Great tip–Jazz loves jerky and I recently made some with ground turkey and used the extruder that came with my dehydrator (it looks like a cookie press and makes strips.) I’m going to try this with the chicken breasts. Your photo looks like Jazz’s favorite jerky brand. And thanks for the tips on how to flavor it. I’m going to try beef too!

I just made 12 pounds of chicken breasts into dried chicken jerky. Most will be bagged and given out to doggies I know for Christmas. I do have a meat slicer and dehydrator which makes the job so much easier. I keep them frozen and refrigerated. Also I do not add anything, no salt, no spices and dogs love them. If you buy your chicken breast on sale and freeze them until ready to make you’ll save a lot over buying the strips, plus you can be assured of their safety.

I am so glad to find this recipe for chicken jerky. I stopped buying it for my dogs not because of the cost but because it was killing some dogs. Most chicken treats are made in China. My husband is a equine veterinarian and he has gotten warings about the chicken jerky from China. They say it is killing dogs but don’t know why. I ask, don’t we have chickens in America? Thank you again for the recipe.

Partially frozen chicken breasts and a sharp knife. I cut the long way of the breast. I know they say cut with the grain but I’ve never figured which way that is so just cut it the long way which is what the picture looks like anyway.

I have been wanting to make this I finally bought a dehydrator. The recipe book that came with he dehydrator says when making chicken, or turkey jerky only use precooked and processed meat??? Any idea why? Thanks:)

Garlic is actually used in some of the better dog foods, such as Honest Kitchen. I consulted with a canine nutritionist and she said it is safe to give them up to 1/2 tsp per day, so a small amount rubbed non the chicken would be OK.

I just did a quick search on garlic and dogs. I’ve always heard that adding garlic to a dog’s diet is a good way to control fleas. Evidently, I’m a little behind the times. A quick search reveals a mix of opinions – everything from it’s bad, bad, bad to it’s beneficial in moderation. Thoughts?

In fact, as I ‘speak’, we are making 4 pounds of chicken jerky.
Nothing but pure chicken breast with a tiny sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
We slow bake it in the oven for several hours – three to four pounds of
chicken breast yields one pound of chicken jerky!

What is the safe shelf life of these if stored in an airtight container or a ziploc bag without refrigeration? We keep the store brought ones in the original bag without refrigeration for 3-4 weeks after opening. Our dog goes through chicken strips fairly quickly, a 3# bag from Costco lasts about 3 weeks. I would like to make a big batch of these in the electric smoker possibly, any thoughts good or bad on this? I may be eating just as many as the dog though 🙂
Thank You

Hi Deuce,
You can store it up to 1 month in a cool, dry place, or in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Very important to make sure you dehydrate it enough to remove all the moisture, though, as it can cause your jerky to mold.

With all of the problems of commercial dog jerky, we stopped feeding it. If you want to keep any sort of treat from spoiling, read the expiration date and there are also Ziplocs or the machines that suction air out of kitchen plastic bags.

Thank you Carol. I do not feed the dogs treats that have expired. Also, I do normally store all my treats in ziplock baggies, however, this bag did not get sealed tightly, and I would prefer not to toss it. I cut my treats into small bites as rewards. The problem I am trying to get around at this point is keeping them from crumbling when I do cut them. I also spent a lot of time volunteering for a rescue, doing transports and fostering. I ALWAYS talk with my vet before purchasing any type of jerky treats for my dogs, and he has ok’d this one, and have been feeding it to my dogs for 4 years. I only give my dogs treats that are made in the USA by a reputable company.